Elephants grow continuously throughout their lifetime. At around the age of 25 years, female elephants’ growth slows down. Their bodies continue to grow longer, giving them an elongated appearance. With age females develop hollows above the eyes and start holding their heads lower.
Here is an example of a female elephant aged at about 45-50 years old.
Vachellia (Acacia) karroo trees are a favorite food for elephants.
In spite of their sharp thorns, Vachellia (Acacia) karroo trees are a favourite food for Mount Camdeboo's elephants. In this photo, Luwanda and her calf, Laddie are feeding off a Vachellia karroo tree that Harry (Mount Camdeboo's elephant bull) pushed over. The herd often feeds off trees that Harry has pushed over. Particularly the calves benefit from this, as they are then able to reach the leaves that would otherwise have been too high.
Meet Levi
This is Levi, the son of Mount Camdeboo's matriarch. We estimate him to be about 4 - 6 years old. Levi still regularly tries to suckle from his mother (as he is about to do in this photo). On average, elephant calves suckle for 3 - 5 years, although they can continue for longer if their mother doesn't have a new calf. Sometimes Levi's mother lets him suckle peacefully, but other times she pushes him away.
Elephants' trunks are like super-strong arms
Did you know?
An amazing feature of elephant trunks is that they can stretch up to 25 % of their length. This was discovered by scientists at Zoo Atlanta, where they monitored the trunk of one of the African elephants there. According to the scientists, such knowledge on the ability of the elephant’s trunk is crucial when planning for human-elephant conflict mitigation strategies, a key focal area for ERP. For instance, with this knowledge, communities are able to plant their crops further away from boundary fences of game reserves, thereby reducing the number of elephants enticed to break fences in order to reach planted crops on the other side of the fence.
Elephants can remedy their mineral deficiencies.
If necessary, elephants are able to remedy their mineral deficiencies by eating soil or digging for salt. In this photo, some of Mount Camdeboo's elephants are gathered around a salt lick. One of the cows has gathered up soil from around the salt lick and is blowing the 'salt dust' into her mouth. Her calf is reaching up with his trunk to test and learn from what she is doing, and possibly to suck up some of the airborne salt dust for himself.
Elephant bull, Harry, has sprayed mud onto his body,
Having a large, bulky body corresponds with a relatively small surface area through which an elephant can lose heat when it gets hot. Elephants also lack sweat glands, so they can't cool down through perspiration and evaporation. Their wrinkled skin and large ears, however, help to increase the surface area through which they can lose heat and cool down. Here, Mount Camdeboo's elephant bull, Harry, has also sprayed mud onto his body, which will help him to stay cool.
New elephant calf
Mount Camdeboo's new elephant calf is walking more fluidly now. The little one is getting plenty of practice, as the herd moves reasonable distances each day. Here the herd is following the matriarch to a waterhole, with the new calf and it's older brother following behind their mother.
Harry, a elephant bull meets herd after arrival at reserve
Harry, Mount Camdeboo's elephant bull, met Mount Camdeboo's herd a few weeks after he arrived at the reserve. He and the herd then moved around together. Since the matriarch had her baby however, Harry has been moving around the reserve on his own. It is natural for an elephant bull to move independently from the herd for periods of time. Harry has been exploring some new areas since separating from the herd. In this photo Harry is at a waterhole, where he drank and coated himself in mud.
Baby Elephant learning to walk
Trying to co-ordinate 4 legs and a trunk can be a tricky task when you're only a few days old. Here, Mount Camdeboo's baby elephant looks like it's doing a wiggle dance while trying to figure things out. When it gets going, however, the little one can move rather quickly.
Elephant Matriarch introduced new baby to herd
The matriarch of Mount Camdeboo's introduced herd has had a baby: ). Although still wobbly on its feet and unsure what to do with its trunk, the little calf is doing well and follows its mother closely. We are delighted with this new addition to the family and will continue to monitor the herd and little one’s progress.